In this penetrating analysis of a little-explored area of Japanese cultural history, Timon Screech reassesses the career of the chief minister Matsudaira Sadanobu, who played a key role in defining what we think of as Japanese culture today.
"In this analysis of eighteenth- and early nineteenth-century Japanese culture, Timon Screech reassesses the career of the chief minister Matsudaira Sadanobu and locates it within broader cultural and intellectual concerns. Aware of how visual representations could support or un…
"It has long been assumed that Japan's closed country policy meant that the country was isolated from the influence of the outside, and in particular, the western world. However, this study of 18th century Japan, using sources wholly unstudied since their writing, reveals the pr…